Spring is in the air and many of us have been thumbing through seed catalogs and watching home and garden improvement shows on TV in anticipation of warmer weather.

To set you on the path of colorful fragrant blooms and healthy delicious homegrown produce, Wayne County offers many gardening seminars, shows, and sales, all with the spring garden enthusiast in mind.

So after a winter of being stuck inside, get out and enjoy the warm spring weather and the sunshine on your face. Visit the Wayne County Convention & Visitors Bureau website at www.wccvb.com for details on the above events and for more wonderful warm weather events in our area.

The Wayne County Convention and Visitors Bureau, in the heart of Ohio’s Amish Country, has put together a great self drive tour highlighting some of the less traveled backroads of the county. The bureau suggests that you may want to grab your picnic basket and cooler before setting out to enjoy the gorgeous summer weather as this tour features stops at local farmers markets, bakeries, meat markets, wineries and breweries.
Come enjoy the backroads of charming Wayne County, Ohio while filling your picnic hamper with delicious, fresh from the farm, homemade and homegrown treats…the very best of backroads county cusine!

Fresh American handcrafted beer made in historic
120 Beall Ave. Downtown Wooster. They invite you to bring your
Wooster, OH 44691 picnic to their tap room as they only do beer.
330-601-1TAP Growlers available to go.www.JAFBBeer.com

Secrest Arboretum & Gardens

The perfect spot to enjoy a picnic. Open daily dawn to
OARDC dusk. Enjoy the beautiful gardens and arboretum. Part of The
2122 William Rd. Ohio State University’s Agricultural College.
Wooster, OH 44691
330-464-2148www.secrest.osu.edu

Troutman Vineyards and Winery

Bring a picnic lunch and sample home-grown wine
4243 Columbus Ave. in the shade of their backyard. Feed the goats and take a
Wooster, OH 44691 stroll through the vineyard. Learn about the wine making
330-263-4345 process.www.troutmanvineyards.com

Silver Run Vineyard and Winery

Boutique winery featuring hand-crafted wines in a country
376 Eastern Rd. setting. Relax by the coxy fireplace or on the covered back
Doylestown, OH 44230 porch.
330-671-1115www.silverrunwinery.com

Celebrate the July 4th holiday weekend at one of our many community events. The best part, no admission cost!

June 30 Music at the Bandstand-Doylestown
Concerts are free and open to the public. The June 30th concert features The Juke Hounds at 7pm. Food Trucks will be available.July 1Benefit Quilt Auction-Kidron Auction
Annual auction benefitting the Ohio Crippled Children’s Fund. Breakfast is
served at 6:30am (charge) followed by the auction at 9am. Auction features furniture, over 100 locally-made quilts, buggies, harnesses, grandfather clock and more.July 1 Weekly Farmers Market-Downtown Wooster
Locally grown vegetables, flowers and baked goods. 8AM-NOON. Good chance you’ll find just what you need for the family cookoutJuly 1-2 Cowboy Mounted Shooters at the Wayne County Fairgrounds
Watch these cowboys and cowgirls, dressed in movie style western wear, compete in timed shooting matches on horseback. Friday evening at 7:30pm, Saturday and Sunday mornings at 10am. Great fun for the kids.July 4 Ohio Light Opera Community Pops Concert-Downtown Wooster
Bring a chair and join in the festivities. A community pre-firework tradition presented by Main Street Wooster and The Ohio Light Opera at 7pm.July 4 Fredericksburg Independence Day Parade
Billed as “Wayne County’s Biggest Small Town Parade.” The Village of Fredericksburg invites you to their hometown parade that steps off at 11 am.

July 4 Wooster Community Fireworks Celebration
The festival grounds, at the soccer field at Oldman and Kinney Roads, activities start at 5pm with food, entertainment, and family fun. Bring your blanket to stake out your spot for the fireworks at 10pm.July 4-8 Orrville Firefighters Independence Day Celebration & Parade
Annual festival complete with a parade July 4th at 4pm and fireworks July 8th at 10:15pm. Enjoy this hometown family fun festival.

Visit us online for more information on these or many more FREE summer events.
800-362-6474/www.wccvb.com

Join the Village of Shreve, Ohio, just south of Wooster and home to Ohio’s largest in-land water way, the 5,512-acre Killbuck Marsh, on Saturday, March 18, 2017 for the Shreve Migration Sensation. The day centers around the peak spring bird migration and includes self-guided tours with local experts and designated spotting stations in the Killbuck Marsh, Shreve Lake, Brown’s Bog, and the Funk Bottoms wildlife area. Cost is just $15.00 per person or $20.00 per family and includes all events; six workshops offered by well-known experts in their fields, and location maps. Visit the many booths in the Birder’s Market Place where you will find a large selection of binoculars, spotting scopes, nature art, books, bird houses and feeders, shirts and hats with the migration logo. In addition to this year’s workshops enjoy these “Sensational” Family-Friendly Activities: Dip-Netting for marsh creatures (bring water proof boots), Wilderness Center Inside Exploration Area, with snakes, turtles and salamanders. Live hawks and owls with the Medina Raptor Center. Animal Ambassadors from the Akron Zoo and a special program teaching fishing skills at Whispering Hills Jellystone Park.
Registration opens at 8:00 a.m. at Shreve Elementary School, 598 North Market Street (State Route 226), Shreve, Ohio 44676. For a complete list of the day’s activities and workshop subjects and presenters visit www.shreveohio.com
Plan on spending the day in the quaint Village of Shreve with its authentic Amish Restaurant and Bakery, old fashioned hardware store and unique shopping. “It’s where good friends get together to enjoy nature!” Call the Wayne County Convention & Visitors Bureau for other great Wayne County attractions at 800-362-6474 or visit them on the web at www.wccvb.com.

What a great song…only they aren’t singing about Wayne County, Ohio. We host many inside events during the winter months, so if you are suffering from cabin fever or the winter doldrums the Wayne County Convention & Visitors Bureau invites you to visit our new 2017 Wayne County Directory and Calendar of Events online at wccvb.com or a printed copy can be requested by calling our office toll free at 1-800-362-6474. No place to go? The next few months are full of amazing indoor events for the whole family.

Here is just a sample of some of the cozy and warm inside events Wayne County has to offer:

o Exciting Wooster Oilers Hockey Games & Family Skates at the Alice Noble Ice Arena
o June in January Summer Outdoor Living Preview at Buchwalter Greenhouse
o Wayne County Farm Toy Show at Greene Middle School in Smithville
o Brewfest Benefit for the Wayne Center for the Arts
o Concerts and theater productions at the College of Wooster
o Migration Sensation Birding Workshops at Shreve Elementary School
o Arts and crafts shows, toy and train show, health expo, bridal shows, pancake breakfasts, auctions and sales, quilt shows…and that’s just to name a few!

Start a new family tradition with a Wayne County winter family getaway. Many of our hotels offer special winter incentives during the off-season and feature indoor pools, hot tubs, free Wi-Fi and breakfast.…no place to go? We don’t think so!

Spring is in the air and many of us have been thumbing through seed catalogs and watching home and garden improvement shows on TV in anticipation of warmer weather. To set you on the right path of fragrant blooms and delicious homegrown produce, Wayne County offers many gardening seminars, shows, and sales, all with the spring garden enthusiast in mind.

Visit the Wayne County Convention & Visitors Bureau website at wccvb.com for details on the above events or for more delightful springtime events in our area. You will find a section with farms and farmers’ markets, restaurants that specialize in local farm to table cuisine and wineries. Don’t miss the outdoor section listing our beautiful parks, nature preserves, bike trails and arboretum. So after a winter of being stuck inside, get out and enjoy the warm spring weather in Wayne County, Ohio’s Amish Country. Because we all need a #getawayne.

Join the Village of Shreve, Ohio, just south of Wooster and home to Ohio’s largest in-land water way, the 5,512-acre Killbuck Marsh, on Saturday, March 16, 2016 for the Shreve Migration Sensation. The day centers around the peak spring bird migration and includes self-guided tours with local experts and designated spotting stations in the Killbuck Marsh, Shreve Lake, Brown’s Bog, and the Funk Bottoms wildlife area. Cost is just $15.00 per person or $20.00 per family and includes all events; six workshops offered by well-known experts in their fields, and location maps. Visit the many booths in the Birder’s Market Place where you will find a large selection of binoculars, spotting scopes, nature art, books, bird houses and feeders, shirts and hats with the migration logo. In addition to this year’s workshops enjoy these “Sensational” Family-Friendly Activities: Dip-Netting for marsh creatures (bring water proof boots), Wilderness Center Inside Exploration Area, with snakes, turtles and salamanders. Live hawks and owls with the Medina Raptor Center and the Shreve Library will have “hands on” programs and crafts.
Registration opens at 8:00 a.m. at Shreve Elementary School, 598 North Market Street (State Route 226) Shreve, Ohio 44676. For a complete list of the day’s activities and workshop subjects and presenters visit www.shreveohio.
Plan on spending the day in the quaint Village of Shreve with its authentic Amish Restaurant and Bakery, old fashioned hardware store and unique shopping. “It’s where good friends get together to enjoy nature!” Call the Wayne County Convention & Visitors Bureau for other great Wayne County attractions at 800-362-6474 or visit them on the web at www.wccvb.com.

A national company located in Hudson, Ohio, Leaf Filter , has the pulse on America’s housing market and decided to help its customers in their search for the perfect place to call home by collecting data on cities across the country. Analyzing statistics like home value, household income, and population (among many other factors), the company compiled the Top 20 Places to Settle Down.

As a College of Wooster graduate, I was elated to see that my little college town made the cut.

Wooster is perhaps one of America’s best kept secrets. At a glance, many don’t realize just how much this little town has to offer. This is a place brimming with small town charm and community pride.

I can say that in my four years as an honorary resident, I discovered a ton of awesome nooks and crannies to please every generation.

1) Fantastic Food Scene

Wooster’s growing downtown district is quite impressive! The wide variety of cuisines will surely satisfy any palette. Here are some of my favorite picks:

Old Jaol Restaurant and Tavern tops my list of favorite spots in Wooster. With friendly servers, lively atmosphere, and tasty food, it’s no wonder my friends and I made this our go-to choice for a fun girls’ night out.

Broken Rocks has some of the best chicken marsala I’ve ever tasted. It’s truly the perfect spot for a romantic Friday date night!

Local Roots was just up and coming when I was still a student at COW, but I remember stopping there for a quick snack a time or two. With the array of top-notch produce this year-round farm market co-op offers, their sustainable, locally sourced farm-to-table philosophy is certainly easy to get behind.

JAFB Brewing Company, while also new during my tenure at Wooster, offered a comfortable mix of local figures and college students looking to broaden their horizons.

2) Top Notch Shopping Options

At the north end of the city, you can find chain stores and restaurants galore. But the real gems are nestled in Wooster’s downtown district.

When the weather was good, one of my favorite pastimes was to take the short walk from campus to the downtown area, where I’d explore the local shops for the afternoon.

Books in Stock, with its selection of rare and used books, drew me in like a magnet. They carry everything imaginable – from long-forgotten childhood favorites to recent bestsellers I hadn’t had the time to pick up because of my coursework.

Lucky Records had also just opened when I was finishing my degree (are you noticing a trend here? Wooster is rapidly expanding!). It’s the perfect place to pick up a Christmas gift for your mom who loves Journey, and for your trendy best friend who can’t get enough of vintage tunes.

Pine Tree Barn is, hands down, my go-to place for getting Halloween pumpkins, Christmas trees, and outdoor décor. It’s a little off the beaten path compared to the other downtown locations I’ve mentioned, but make sure to check it out and enjoy the countryside views!

3) Opportunities for adventure

If you’re looking for family-friendly fun, Wooster is a great place to be! Here are a few places that hosted some of my best memories:

Acres of Fun is a great pick for all ages. With a putt-putt course, go-karts, indoor roller-skating arena, laser tag, and arcade games galore, no one can possibly be bored here!

Ramseyer Farms is the best spot for fall fun! Find your way through their giant, twisting corn maze, take a hayride, or pick your perfect pumpkin for carving here!

Movies 10 always has the best movies, and is the perfect rainy day activity! Pre-purchase tickets to a midnight premier for a big franchise movie for even more fun (I dressed in costume to see the premier of Catching Fire here, and it’s in my top 5 college memories!)

The Ohio Light Opera, which calls Wooster home, is a great source of entertainment if you love operetta and musical theater! These performances are so high quality, you’ll feel like you’re attending a show on Broadway.

4) First Rate Schools

Okay, maybe I’m a little biased with this one, but, The College of Wooster is truly a great asset to the Wooster community.

The formidable Kauke Arch can be seen when approaching the city from the south, and the campus continues to lend to the small town charm from there. Not to be forgotten is COW’s independent study program, which many students choose to tackle right in the community!

The Wooster City School District is also excellent. With a state-of-the-art high school, and wonderfully supportive staff, this is a school district that will help your child grow into a well-rounded citizen.

5) Breathtaking Views

As with many college students, I had a bit of wanderlust during my stay at Wooster (who am I kidding, I still do!). But I always stopped short of buying an expensive plane ticket or booking a hotel.

Instead, I ventured outside of campus to take in some of the amazing views right in my own backyard, so to speak.

Christmas Run Park was a favorite spot of mine for sightseeing. I discovered Christmas Run while volunteering as a freshman. With the giant wooden castle of a playground and beautiful walking trail, I found the perfect place to commune with nature.

I’ll save you from an endless list of places to catch a view in Wooster. But, I will leave you with this picture I took at L.C. Boles Golf Course (by The Wooster Inn) the morning after pulling a classic college all-nighter. Doesn’t that look like the perfect place to settle down?

Rachel attended the College of Wooster from 2010 to 2014, which now seems like a lifetime ago. She currently works at Leaf Filter, Inc. where she works with a remarkable team to help customers protect their biggest asset – their homes.

Here’s Rachel after she completed her own Independent Study!

Thank you Rachel for your great guest post-we loved having an article written from a College of Wooster Alumni point of view.

It’s that time of year again; local farmers and gardeners alike are dusting off their folding tables, pop-up awnings and cash boxes gearing up for the farm market season. If you’ve never experienced a local weekly market, picked your own apples or stopped off at a roadside stand to purchase fresh from the farm produce, you’re really missing a Wayne County treat.

Fresh from the farm flavor.
Because locally purchased produce was harvested that day or the day before, the product you are purchasing is farm fresh. You will quickly realize just how much better these fruits and veggies are. There is nothing quite like an apple picked straight from the tree, a tomato fresh off the vine, or a fresh brown egg from a free range chicken to prove a point.

Getting to know your local farmer.
Besides the nutritional value and great taste of fresh produce, there is also the economical importance of buying directly from the farmer thus, keeping the money local. You’ll enjoy meeting the farmer who grew your green beans and potatoes. Many times they have wonderful recipes to share and are quick to slice a melon up to share with shoppers before they buy.

A whole lot of fun. Start a Saturday tradition by grabbing a cup of coffee to-go at a local coffee shop then visiting the vendors at your local market. Wander from booth to booth, smelling bouquets of flowers displayed in mason jars, fresh from the oven artisan breads and cinnamon rolls, fresh picked produce and herbs. Many markets offer locally made arts and crafts, children’s activities, cooking demonstrations and live music. Seriously, it just doesn’t get much better than this.

Here is a partial list of local Wayne County farm markets and co-ops, some offering pick your own produce, seasonal activities, corn mazes, and cooking classes!

Visit the Wayne County Convention & Visitors Bureau website for a list of our local farmers’ markets and roadside farm markets at www.wccvb.com. Or give us a call at 1-800-362-6474 and we will be glad to send you a copy of the 2015 Wayne County Visitors Guide that includes a copy of the Wayne County Calendar of Events.

If you’re looking for a great place to vacation with the kids this summer without having to dip into their college accounts, you might want to check out all that Wayne County, Ohio has to offer.
Enjoy, a visit to an old fashioned hardware store where the Amish shop for nonelectric goods, corn mazes with hayrides, pick your own fields of seasonal fruits, an ice cream dairy, rodeo, farmer’s markets, bike paths, hometown festivals with parades and fireworks just to name a few.
If your family is partial to outdoor activities such as hiking or biking? Wayne County is home to many recreation areas such as Johnson Woods State Nature Preserve, Secrest Arboretum and Gardens, Shreve Wildlife Area, Wilderness Center, and Rails to Trails Bike Trails.
Wayne County is home to thirteen local historical societies who are proud to display the rich heritage of their communities. Your family might enjoy a train or track car ride with the Orrville Historical Society or a tour of the Wayne County Historical Society Campus complete with a turn of the century firehouse and an alleged haunted horse-drawn 1869 steam engine.
Treat your family to live musical theater with The Ohio Light Opera, who call the College of Wooster home during their summer festival season. What youngster isn’t crazy about swashbuckling pirates and knights in shining armor? The 2015 list of shows includes “Brigadoon” and “Yeoman of the Guard.” Children’s ticket prices are just $10.00.
We offer restaurants that feature home-made foods from local produce, a tea room, Amish family style restaurants, bakeries, and cafes. How about dining in an Amish buggy or an actual jail cell? Yep, we’ve got that too.
We offer accommodations to fit any budget including hotels, bed and breakfasts, cabins and campgrounds. During the summer season you can stay in a college townhouse apartment complete with kitchen and up to three bedrooms.
The Wayne County Convention and Visitors Bureau would be happy to offer suggestions for your next family trip. Give us a call at 800-362-6474 to request our latest travel guide or visit us online at wccvb.com.